Irritant gas discharge device



April 27, 1943.

v F. SABI'N'I IRRITANT @AS DISCHARGE DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed ot.4, 1941 ATTORNY.

April 27, 1943. sABlNp 2,317,942

' IRRITANT GAS DISCHARGE DEVICE Filed Oct. 4, 1941 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' wJ E 1N VENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNrreo stares OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to hold-up and theft prevention systems suitablefor installation in banks, commercial and other establishments for theprotection of tellers cages, cashier booths or other locations which aresubject to the risk of hold-up and theft; and the invention hasreference, more particularly, to protective means operative to dischargean irritant or incapacitating gas, such e. g. as tear gas, into the airin the vicinity of the area desired to be protected.

This invention has for an object to provide a simple and relativelyinexpensive device for storing a frangible gas container or bomb in thevicinity desired to be protected; said device including means which isoperative, when actuated, to automatically break or shatter the gascontainer or bomb, and thereupon expel the gas content liberatedtherefrom into the atmosphere for dispersion therethrough within thezone of the area desired to be protected.

This invention has for another object to provide, in a device for thepurposes above mentioned, a spring actuated means for both shattering agas container or bomb and then expelling, from the container or bombstorage space of the device into the external surrounding atmosphere,the gas liberated by the shattering of the container or bomb, togetherwith electromechanical control means for releasing said spring actuatedmeans.

The invention has for a further object, to provide a spring actuatedbreaker and gas expulsion means and electro-mechanical control meanstherefor which can be quickly and easily reset to normal initialcondition, whereby the device may be quickly recharged with areplacement gas container or bomb when required.

Other objects ofthis invention, not at this time more particularlyenumerated, will be understood from thefollowing detailed description ofthe same.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the irritant gas discharge deviceaccording to this invention, and as initially set ready for operation;Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of thesame, viewed from the left in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a vertical crosssectional view, taken on line 4 4 in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryhorizontal sectional view, taken on line 5-5 in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is ahorizontal sectional View, taken on line 6-6 in Fig.4.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of Fig. 4, but drawnon an enlarged scale, and showing the operated release of the mechanismfor breaking a gas container or bomb and expelling the liberated gascontent thereof; this View including a wiring diagram of an electricalcontrol circuit in which the device is connected.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above describedviews, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character IU indicates acasing, the lower interior of which provides a storage space or chamberII in which a frangible gas container or bomb I2 (see Fig. 4) may bedeposited. The lower end of said casing is closed by a removable bottomplate I3, and the arrangement of the thus closed bottom of the casing issuch as to provide gas egress openings I4 adjacent to the bottomthereof. Illustrative of one arrangement whereby said gas egressopenings I4 are provided, the casing wall is formed with diametricallyopposite'extensions or bottom offsetting tongues I5, and the bottomplate I3 is provided at diametrically opposite points with upstandingattachment wings I6; the latter having'bayonet slots I1 to engagecoupling studs I8 which oppositely project from the sides of the casing.When the bottom plate I3 is attached to the casing I0 it will abut theoffsetting tongues I5, while at the same time the attachment Wings I6will be angularly offset relative to said oisettng tongues I5, thusforming intermediate these parts the gas egress openings I4. It will beobvious that the described form and relative arrangement of the casingand vits detachable bottom plate is only one of many possible ways ofproviding the desired gas egress.

openings, and consequently I do not limit myself thereto, since anyconstruction or arrangement calculated to provide gas egress openingsleading outwardly from the lower part of the gas container or bombstorage space or chamber II, would be deemed within the scope of my.invention, so far as such gas egress featureV is concerned.

The upper end of the casing IU is closed by a tcp cover I9 suitablyalnxed thereto. Said top cover is provided with a central perforatebearing hub 20, in which is slidably guided a piston rod or stem 2|, theinner end portion of which extends downwardly into the interior of saidcasing. Afxed to the extremity Vof the .external end portion of saidpiston rod or stem 2l is a finger piece 22, which may be so formed as toprovide a stop-shoulder 23 adapted, on downward movementI of said rod orstem 2l, to abut the bearing hub 2i), and thereby limit downwardmovement of said rod or stem within the casing interior.

Afllxed to the inner extremity of said piston rod or stem 2| is a pistonmember 24, which is preferably provided with an upstanding peripheralflange 25, thus providing an upwardly open interior in which is seatedthe base of a conical spring member 26, the upper end part of whichbears against the underside of the casing top cover I9. Aiixed to thelpiston member andnits rod or stem, so as to be centrally located Vforprojection downwardly from the bottom face of said piston member, is aninverted conical striker or breaker member 21. Said piston member 24 issized to, slidably and conformably, substantially iit the interior ofthe casing I0, for operative downward movement, under proper conditions,within the 'chamber I I in which Va gas container 'or bomb I2 isdeposited.

A detent means is provided for holding the piston member 24 in normalinitial uplifted position within the chamber II of the casing, and abovethe gas container or bomb I2 deposited within the latter, and so thatthe striker or breaker member 21 is poised above said'gas container orbomb. This .detent means comprises a lever 29, the fulcrum or hingeknuckle 2'9 of which is pivoted by a pin 30 between bearing ears 3l ofa. fulcrumed block 32; the latter being suitably affixed to the topcover I9. vlrom the lower arm of said lever u23 extends a latch elementV33, which passes through an opening 34 Yin the side wall of the casingI0, so as to vengage beneath the uplifted piston member 24, whereby toretainthe latter in normal initial raised position, `within the casingand abovethegas container or bomb deposited within the chamber I I, andagainst-the tension ofthecompressed spring member 26 (see Fig. 4). Theupper arm of said lever 23 terminates in Aan ,upwardly open bifurcateyoke 35, which is preferably provided with an internal thread elementY36.

Mounted on the cas/ing top Vcover ISL is an electric motor .31, the`armature 4shaft 3 8 o f which terminates in ascrew-threadedlportion 39.Said motor is hingedly supported subject to .up-swinging movement atdesired times, and tothis end is carried 'by a 4clamp frame 40 whichembraces its 'rearward end portion; said cla'np frame -4'0 beingpivotally connected with e hinge bleek nl, whichis suitably affixed toSaid'top coverl9. To normally retain the motor againstaccidental'upswinging movement, its forward endis brought torest upon apillow-block 4'2,which'is'als"o'af fixed to`the't`op cover I9. vHingedto said pillowblQCk '4:2 is a. felels'able Clamp member 753, 4the freeend of which is releasajbly coupled tothe pillow block by 'a'thumb-screw bolt'4'4, or in any other suitablemanner. y

lVhen thedetent means is disposed in 'its'normal operative'po'sitionwherein'tlie latch element 33 is ldisposed to eng'age'and uphold vthepiston member '24, the 'screw-threaded portion 39 ofthe -motor shaft 38is dropped into the yokeo 35 fs'o as to operatively'engage the threadelements 'of the lattenwhereupon the` motor 31 is secured againstupswinging displacement.

Afxed tothe exterior of the casing lil is an electric switch 'elementorv circuit breaker`45 having a yieldable push-piece'46 so positioned asto be"'engaged by the latch element 33, whenth'e latter is operativelydisposed to engage and uphold the piston member 24. Said -push-piece 46is inwardly moved by said latch element 33 so as to close the contactsof said switch element or circuit breaker in an electric circuit closingcondition.

The electric circuit for controlling operation of the irritant gasdischarge device includes wiring 41 leading from a suitable source ofelectrical energy through said switch element or circuit breaker 45 toone pole of the motor 31, and thence from the other pole of the latterback to said source through the wiring 48. Connected in the electricalcircuit thus provided is a normally open manual switch means 49, whichmay be suitably Vlocated within the area to be protected subject toconvenient operation by the person stationed within said area.

in normal circuit closing position, while the .man-

ual switch 49 is=normally open.

r-Ihe device may be suitably supported from `a wall, partition or otherlplace of support within v the area desired to be protected, and to4this end maybe provided with 'any suitable form of supporting or'carrying bracket 250 to 'which the Icasing I0 is 'ainxed vand vwhich inturn may be mounted upon and affixed to said wall, partition or other.p'laceofsupporlt- In operation, I a 'frangibl'e vgas Acontainer orbembI2 havingbeen x'deposited1in the chamber 'II of the casing I0, 'andVthebottom vlplate attached -to the latter, 'and the piston 'member 24l'havin'g'been raised against 'the 'iteri'sio'n o'f the spring member25, tand held in suchposition bythe inserted det'ent latch'33,fthernotor 31 is swung clown torenter :the threaded portion-39 of 4its:shaft 38 =into operative engagement with :the threaded yoke 35 ofthedetentmeansthus settingthedevice-ready fora-gas dischargeoperation(seelig. 2i). When the device -is -thus set, the-latchelement 33 willdepress -the .push-piece 46 of .the circuit breaker 45, thus normallyclosing the vlatter, while .the manual switch 49 remains open, soa-s -to.normallyrinte'rrupt ilow of electrical current to the motor '31.

In the event 'of attempted hold-up or theft, the threatened 'or other'person "will 'close 'the manual -switch 49, whereupon 'current 'will'be immediately delivered through the 'closed circuit breaker 45 tothe'motor 31,thus starting operation of the jlatter, s'o'as torevolve'the shaft; 38 and its threadedl portion ed. Turning ofthethreaded 'fipotion -fifa-s eng-aged withthe yoke 5 of 'the K'detent'-m'ans will cause -said yoke 'to travel back 'threuponlanldfwillthereby-fswingthe lever `28 so as to"e`f'e`ct.outwa'rdWithdrawalmov'ementof'th'e latch el'ement`f33. AsI-thellatch delemen't'33 is 'thlisiwithdrawn "from 'its 'upholding engagement with the pistonmemberf2f4, :fso that the latter is'freed, the thrust ofthe'sprin'gf'membei' 2B drives said piston member 2-4A downward, wherebythe breaker or striker 21 forcibly strikes the frangiblegas container orbomb I2'so a'sfto shatter 4the same, Vand-thus liberate its Sas centent.Upon such collapse 4of the gas ,container or bomb,thelpiston member'24continues its downward movementand thereby compresses the gas liberatedwithin the. casing chamber -I I so as'to "forcibly Ieiipel the .samethrough' the 'egress openings I4 Aand into `the 'surrounding `atmospherein various directions, whereby such surrounding atmosphere is quicklypermeated with the gas, with incapacitating effect upon the attackingperson or persons. In the course of such operation of the device, as thelatch element 33 swings out of the casing, thus releasing thepistonmember 2c, it also moves away from and releases the push-piece 46of the circuit breaker 45, whereby to so operate the latter as toimmediately interrupt the motor circuit, thus stopping the motor 3lafter it has released the detent means.

To reset the device in operative condition, the clamp member 43 isreleased so that the motor and its shaft 38 may be swung upward, towithdraw the screw-threaded portion 39 of the latter from the detentyoke member 35, thereby to release the detent lever 28. Thereupon thepiston member 2 may be retracted against the tension of the springmember 26 lto normal initial upliited position, after which the detentlever 28 is swung inward to reengage the latch element 33 in holdingrelation to the uplifted piston member. When these parts are thusrestored to normal initial condition, the motor 31 and its shaft 38 areagain swung down to operatively engage the screw-threaded part 39 of thelatter with the detent yoke member 35, whereupon the' motor is againsecured by the embrace of the clamp member 43. To recharge the chamber II with a replacement gas container or bomb I2, the bottom plate I3 isdetached from the casing I0, said gas container or bomb inserted intothe chamber il, and the latter again closed by reattachment of saidbottom plate I3, whereupon the device is again ready for use.

It will be understood that various changes could be made in the abovedescribed constructions, and that widely dierent embodiments of thisinvention could be made without departing from the scope thereof asdeiined in the following claims. It is therefore intended that allmatter contained in the foregoing description or shown in theaccompanying `drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Iclaim:

l. For a hold-up and theft prevention systeml or the like, a device fordischarging an irritant gas comprising, a casing providing a chamber forholding a frangible gas container, said casing having gas egress meansleading from the lower portion of said chamber, spring actuated meansoperative within said casing chamber adapted upon release to shatter,the gas container, said means including a piston conformable to thecross-sectional area of lsaid chamber and ada-pted on descent to expelthe liberated gas through said gas egress means, a detent means fornormallygholding said spring actuated means and piston upraised abovethe gas container deposited within said chamber, electro-mechanicalmeans for releasing said detent means, a normally open electric controlcir-cuit serving said release means, said circuit including means toclose the same as occasion may require, and said circuit furtherincluding a circuit breaker adapted to be normally closed by said detentmeans when the latter occupies its operative position.

2. For a hold-up and theft preventive system or the like, a device fordischarging an irritant gas comprising, a casing providing a chamber forholding a frangible gas container, said casing having gas egress meansleading from the lower portion of said chamber, a spring actuated pistonmeans conformable to the cross-sectional area of and sldably mountedwithin said chamber and operative, when released, to shatter the gascontainer and by its descent to forcibly expel the liberated gas throughsaid egress means, a plv-- oted vdetent means having a latch element Ltoengage -and hold said piston means in raisedposition against the tensionof its actu-ating' spring and above the gas container,electro-mechanicalmeans for releasing said 'detent means, and a normallyopen electric control circuit serving said release means, said circuitincluding means to-v close the same as occasion may require.

3. For a hold-up and theft prevention system or the like, a device fordischarging an irritant.' gas comprising, a casing providing a chamberfor holdinga frangible gascontainer, said casing. having gas egressmeans leading from the lower portion of said chamber, a spring actuatedpiston means conformable to the cross-sectional area of and slidablymounted within said chamber and operative when released to shatter thegas container and by its descent to forcibly expel the liberated gasthrough said egress means, a pivoted detent means having a latch elementto engage and hold said piston means in raised position against thetension of its actuating spring and above the gas container,electro-mechanical means for releasing said detent means, and a normallyopen electric control circuit serving said release means, said circuitincluding means to close the same as occasion may require, and saidcircuit further including a circuit breaker adapted to be normallycl-osed by the engagement therewith of the detent latch element when thelatter operatively eng-ages said piston member.

4. In a device of the kind described as dened in claim 2 wherein, thepiston means is provided with a rod slidable through a wall of thecasing to project exteriorly of the latter subject to manipulation forsetting said piston means in detained initial raised position.

5. In a device of the kind described as dened in claim 2 wherein, thepiston means is provided with a rod slidable through a wall of thecasing to project exteriorly of the latter subject to manipulation forsetting said piston means in detained initial raised position, andwherein said piston means is further provided at its operative face witha projecting striker element for shattering contact with the gascontainer during operative movement of the piston means.

6. For a hold-up and theft prevention system or the like, a device fordischarging an irritant gas comprising, a casing providing a chamber forholding a frangible gas container, said casing having gas egress meansleading from said chamber, a spring actuated piston means slidablymounted within said chamber and operative, when released, to shatter thegas container and eXpel the liberated gas through said egress means,said piston means having a rod slidable through a wall of said casing toproject exteriorly of the latter subject to manipulation for raisingsaid piston means to normal initial position, a pivoted detent meanshaving at one end a latch element to engage and hold said piston meansin raised position against the tension of its actuating spring and abovethe gas container, said detent means having at its other end a bifurcateyoke, an electric motor the armature shaft of which is provided with ascrew-threaded section engageable with said yoke, means to mount saidmotor subject to movement for removing said screw-threaded section ofits shaft from said yoke to permit resetting of said detent means aftera motor actuated :releasing movement thereof, and-a normally'openelectric :circuitser-ving ,said motor, said circuit including means toclose the same as occasion may require.

'7. For a hold-up and theft prevent-ion system or the like, a device fordischarging an irritant gas comprising,a casing providing a chamber Iforholding a frangible gas container, said casing having gas egress meansleading from said chamber, a spring actuated piston means slidablymounted Iwithin said chamber and operative, when released, to shatterthe gas container and expel the liberated gas through said egressmeans,said piston means .having .a rodslidable through a Wall of said casingto project exteriorly of the latter subject to manipulation for raisingsaid piston means to normal initial position, a pivoted detent meanshaving .at :oneend a latch element to engage and hold .said piston meansin raised position against the tension of `its actuating spring .andabove the gas container, -said rdetent means having at its .other end abifurcate yoke, an electric motor `the armature shaft of which isprovided with a screw-.threaded section engageable with said yoke, meansto mount said motor subject to movement for Iremoving saidscrew-threaded section of its shaft `from said yoke -to permit resettingof said detent means after a motor actuated releasing movement thereof,a normally open electric circuit serving said motor, said circuitincluding means kto close the same as occasion may require, and saidcircuit iurther including .a circuit breaker 'adapted to be normallyclosed -Icy the engagement .therewith of the detent latch .element whenthe :latter operatively engages said piston member.

FREDERICK SABINI.

